Rune II, the Viking action-adventure, is headed for more rough waters. Rune II, a sequel to Human Head Studios’ Viking action-adventure, released for PC on November 12th. However, due to a long development cycle and lackluster sales, the game failed to keep the studio from closing. The studio had apparently been in trouble for some time, and they seemingly just ran out of money. After all, most studios these days want to avoid the long and slow implosion that plagued Telltale Games.
The studio actually already closed down after being liquidated into Bethesda, mostly due to an untenable state with its ‘economic realities’. The original Human Head studios was formed by six former Raven Software employees. The remaining employees have since moved to other Bethesda studios and projects. Human Head Studios (now Roundhouse Studios) has since moved on, or so they thought.
After the news of the closure and liquidation broke, fans were concerned about the future of the new game. To allay concerns, Ragnarok said the will continue to support the game with an ‘exciting’ post-launch content strategy.
“Human Head had a longstanding agreement with Rune II’s publisher, Ragnarok Game, LLC, to provide ongoing support for the game,” it explained in an official statement. The original plan for Ragnarok had been to continue supporting the game through DLC, but that looks to have fallen through. Now the situation has gotten worse. Ragnarok has filed a lawsuit against Human Head Studios for “breach of contract,” “fraudulent misrepresentation,” and “unfair business practices.”
The lawsuit alleges that “delays, errors, and mismanagement” made it impossible for the game to succeed. Ragnarok is seeking to recoup the $110,000 investment it made into the developer as a result. The company is also seeking to relcaim assets for the game, which it claims that the former Human Head developers still have control over. Ragnarok wants to “fulfill our promises to our community” but adds that it must first solve these issues.
Rune II is out now for PC on the Epic Games Store.